Crawford Dogs Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 My Border Collie Rose has seemed a bit off for a few months. Toys and treats thrown off her usually bounce of her head instead of being caught, she's run into a few more trees and my parked car, and seems to be getting lost on the agility course- unable to find obstacles and me on occasion. Finally I took her into the opthamologist thinking that they'd say she had some minor cataracts or simply wasn't paying attention (because Rose is a rescue I have never been able to do annual CERF's like I do on my other dogs-- the vet charges twice the price to see a non-papered dog). Instead the vet said she had an early stage of Immune Mediated Retinopathy (IMR). He showed me that Rose had no pupillary light reflex (plr) to some colors of lights but had normal response to other lights (different wavelengths?). They ran an ERG and a multitude of other tests. I was told that either I could give her immunosuppressive drugs or she would go completely blind. Rose starts the drugs next week. Has anyone else run into this issue with their Border Collies? IMR is supposed to be very similar to and hard to differentiate from SARDS (Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome?). Also, Rose is supposed to avoid Ivermectin-based heartworm preventatives and do titers instead of vaccinations for the rest of her life. The vet said that vaccinations can worsen the disease and cause sudden blindness in the affected dogs. AND, the annual CERF doesn't test for these diseases so even if Rose had gone in for annual CERF's they wouldn't have caught the disease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 I am sooo sorry to hear of Rose's problems. I hope the drugs will halt/slow the development of the disease. How old is Rose? And is there a typical age that IMR would show up in dogs? Jovi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford Dogs Posted March 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Rose is about 6 years old and I guess the disease shows up between 6-8 yrs. It's a fairly rare disease, dogs can be "normal" one day and blind the next. Of course, they weren't normal for some time beforehand but we don't always notice the little things. Often in the early stages you may notice bumping into things in poor light, overly dilated pupils, and not seeming to see things well that are within 10 feet of them. Or so I'm told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 1, 2013 Report Share Posted April 1, 2013 Sorry to hear this. I expect it's a bit of a relief to know what is the problem but also a big worry because of what it is. Very best wishes dealing with this and hoping her treatments are helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford Dogs Posted April 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Rose is doing fine although she's got GI upset from the immunosupressive drugs. The vets are playing with the meds right now to get her adjusted to it. She's wiped out a few things this week but otherwise is having a good time. She ran up the top of her brother (Loki was rather suprised by Rose trying to flatten him!) face-first causing a huge collision on Sunday and got stuck in a bush on Monday. If it wasn't for her inability to catch food or toys and her random collisions you'd think she was completely normal. Next week will be her 6th birthday and I'm planning a big party for her. She's going to get her own cake since she loves to steal other people's birthday cakes. This will be the first time she can lay into a cake without getting yelled at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted April 10, 2013 Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Happy Birthday to Rose. It sounds like she is still enjoying a good life. Jovi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford Dogs Posted May 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Rose can see! She went in for an eye exam last week and the vet confirmed that Rose is regaining vision. She does have a fresh RPE lesion (a spot where the retina is detaching) but otherwise is doing much better. I ran her at an agility fun match and she had a great time. A friend took some awesome photos of her too. Her vision is still far from perfect but she isn't running into trees/bushes/parked cars/walls anymore. You can see her running at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27833351@N04/8696961799/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 That is wonderful news? So the immunosuppressive drugs seem to be working? Keep up the good fight, Rose. Jovi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Wow! That's so great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 Sounds like wonderful improvement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 Wow, thats totally awesome! go Rose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford Dogs Posted June 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 It's June now and Rose can now catch toys, chase bugs, and stalk her brother through the house. She's having a grand time. Her stress levels have decreased and she's become more outgoing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted June 9, 2013 Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 Great news! Ruth and Agent Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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